Australia not expecting G20 to hold emergency talks Tuesday

June 05, 2012|Reuters

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia does not expect the Group of 20 major economies to hold emergency talks on the euro zone crisis on Tuesday, Treasurer Wayne Swan said, despite the G7 planning an urgent phone hook-up for later in the day.

Finance chiefs of the Group of Seven leading industrialized powers have called a conference call on the euro zone, a sign of heightened global alarm about the threat posed by strains inside the 17-nation monetary union.

Australia is a member of the wider G20 group.

"There is no formal discussion that I am involved in, but I have been involved on a bilateral basis talking not only to fellow finance ministers but also to other financial organizations," Swan told reporters.

"It is very disappointing that the European authorities have been so slow to act given this recent bout of instability.

"We would like to see more decisive action from our counterparts in Europe. What is required in Europe is the political will to act."